CASE STUDY

Hockey gold medal and back to skiing for 64-year-old Miranda after knee preservation surgery cures her persistent knee pain

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Miranda feared she’d never be able to play the sports she loved again after suffering severe knee pain and wanted a solution that allowed her to continue her active lifestyle

Miranda, aged 64, had always loved participating in any sports she could and her sporting activities formed a big part of her life. She had been an active horse rider all of her life and played hockey since she was 11, but severe knee pain threatened to prevent her doing the activities she loved.

Miranda had already undergone two arthroscopies on her knee. She was told that future problems would need to be resolved with either partial or full knee replacements as a surgeon would not carry out knee realignment (osteotomy) on her. So, when her pain returned in early 2016, Miranda feared the worse and put off having anything done.

She said “It was a major blow but I accepted that sport, having been a huge part of my life, was probably over for me.”

At first Miranda had a lot of physiotherapy, but the pain persisted and was so severe that she couldn’t walk, lie or even sit without pain. Ultimately, Miranda’s osteopath referred her to Professor Wilson. Miranda said “my osteopath told me ‘I cannot fix your problems but I know someone who can.’”

Miranda went to see Professor Wilson, who assessed the situation and proposed a solution that took into account her lifestyle. He recognised that a knee replacement did not fit her needs, so outlined to her the process of a knee realignment (osteotomy), as well as the risks and recovery process. Miranda knew instantly that this was the right procedure for her.

The operation went well, and after ten months and lots of physiotherapy and rehabilitation, Miranda started to play hockey again, with the help of a brace. Five months after this, she was skiing with her grandchildren. Amazingly, just 18 months after her osteotomy operation Miranda was selected for the over 65 England hockey squad and was part of the team who won the gold medal at the 2018 World Cup in Barcelona.

Miranda said “The best part of the process was that everyone who looked after me believed I would recover and no one questioned why at 64 I was doing this. Being part of the gold medal winning hockey team really says it all regarding my treatment with Professor Wilson.”

Professor Wilson commented “A recent study has shown that 60% of patients are able to do high levels of activity and sport after osteotomy surgery, and Miranda’s case is testament to the impressive results that we can achieve with this type of surgery. I’m delighted with her recovery. Sport has always been incredibly important to her and she’s got back to where she wants to be.”